Although 2018's God of War set gaming charts alight, developers at Sony's Santa Monica Studios promise that a fifth game in the core series will be a bigger, longer, and bloodier affair when it eventually hits PS4. As this year's game reinvented the story of Kratos and flipped the Ghost of Sparta's life on its head by bringing his son Atreus on board, God of War was just the beginning of an epic story arc.

Given God of War's ending and the tease of a certain God of Thunder, fans were never under the allusion that Sony would end the series here. Game director Cory Barlog has already outlined his plans for a fifth and sixth game with ideas of what comes next already in the pipeline at Santa Monica studios. Although another game is still a long way off yet, small details of what players can expect have started to surface.

Related: God of War Director Explains Difficulties of A PlayStation 5 Sequel

Speaking at a recent Game Access conference, environmental artist Nate Stephens told fans (via Sector.sk) what he learned from God of War and how it is driving the team forward with God of War 5:

“We still want to be God of War. What I want to say is, the first battle in this game when you’re fighting The Stranger is really an epic fight. It ends with you two destroying the entire environment around you. It was really hard to create, I myself was working on the lighting for this level, and it was super hard to get it to work."

Stephens went on to talk about the Norse gods that appeared in the background of God of War and teased their expanded roles in the next game:

“So if we have a meeting with Thor or Odin, naturally, it must be bigger than this, better than this. This game was very good, but we think we can make it even better. And of course, it must be a little bit bigger. If we do another game -- no one actually said that we are doing it -- it will be bigger, better, longer.”

Although Stephens reminds everyone that God of War 5 is yet to be officially announced, he still knows what another title needs to make it as big a success as its predecessor. As for a game that is longer, the 20+ hours of God of War's story campaign just isn't enough for what the team have planned next. Barlog himself was the first to admit that a lot of God of War's original plans had to be cut due to development constraints and has addressed the criticisms that there weren't enough traditional boss fights.

With its stellar graphics and beautiful one-shot backdrop of Norse mythology, God of War raised the bar for 21st Century gaming and went on to become the highest-rated PS4 exclusive of all time. While it may be a hard task to live up to, at least Stephens doesn't seem daunted when it comes to topping God of War's critical reception. Having already teased that some of these storylines could roll over into God of War 5, if there is an upcoming throwdown with Thor or Odin, it's easy to see how Barlog, Stephens, and the rest of the developers are so confident about the next installment.

More: God of War 5 - Everything You Need to Know

Source: Sector.sk